Written Answers Wednesday 26 May 2010

Scottish Executive

Buildings

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-32445 by Stewart Stevenson on 24 March 2010, on what date it will announce its decision on the future of the Odeon Cinema in Clerk Street in Edinburgh.

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-32445 by Stewart Stevenson on 24 March 2010, whether it will provide details of the reasons for the time that it has taken to consider the reporter’s report on the listed building status of the Odeon Cinema in Clerk Street in Edinburgh and not being able to reach a decision within the three-month period.

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the meetings that have taken place to discuss the future of the Odeon Cinema in Clerk Street in Edinburgh.

Stewart Stevenson: A decision to refuse listed building consent was issued on the Odeon cinema case on 21 May 2010. The reasons for the time taken to reach a decision were given in answer to question S3W-32445. Before reaching a decision officials met with ministers on 12 January 2010 and 18 May 2010.

Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to enact the provisions in the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 that will allow parents to make placing requests for provision in other local authority areas.

Adam Ingram: The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009 is scheduled to commence on 16 August 2010 and will allow parents of children with additional support needs and young persons with additional support needs, including those with co-ordinated support plans, to make placing requests for provision in other local authority areas.

  It is for individual local authorities to interpret the legislation and discharge their duties in line with it.

Fisheries

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what income has been generated and what expenditure undertaken by the Solway Shellfish Management Association in each year of its existence.

Richard Lochhead: The Solway Shellfish Management Association (SSMA) is a private company limited by guarantee (Reg No. SC211971). The company is exempt under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 from providing audited accounts. However, the SSMA have confirmed their income and expenditure as follows:

  

Period
Income
Expenditure


1 November 2005 to 30 April 2007
£374,912
£264,779


Year ending 30 April 2008
£112,652
£168,157


Year ending 30 April 2009
£70,000
£107,436



  The final accounts for the period to 30 April 2010 are not yet available. Information on the company can be obtained from Companies House or from the Company Secretary, Juliette Cooke at Solway Shellfish Management Association, Campbell House, The Crichton, Bankhead Road, Dumfries, DG1 4ZB.

Food

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to secure the future for employees of Noble Foods Ltd in Loanhead.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government is, through Skills Development Scotland, coordinating local response teams under the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative, to provide tailored help and support to the employees of Noble Foods Ltd. PACE presentations were delivered in two sessions on 28 April 2010, with and a further presentation on 19 May 2010.

Food

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support would be available to a possible buyer for Noble Foods Ltd in Loanhead.

Richard Lochhead: The nature of any support the Scottish Government may make available to a buyer of Noble Foods Ltd would be determined by their business proposals.

Food

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of a possible buyer for Noble Foods Ltd in Loanhead.

Richard Lochhead: In the first instance the Scottish Government would expect a potential buyer to approach Noble Foods Ltd to discuss the possible acquisition of the facility.

Health

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran area have had a gastric band fitted in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Nicola Sturgeon: The number of patients resident in NHS Ayrshire and Arran who have had a gastric band fitted in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.

  

Calendar Year
Number of Patients


2005
6


2006
5


2007
3


2008
18


2009
27



  Source: ISD Scotland (SMR01).

Health

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many gastric band procedures NHS Ayrshire and Arran has budgeted for in 2010-11.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally, however, NHS Ayrshire and Arran has indicated that it has budgeted for 25 gastric band procedures in 2010-11.

Health

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much a gastric band procedure costs per patient.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the cost of gastric band procedures is not held centrally.

Health

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines are in place regarding the use of gastric bands.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) published Guideline 115 on the Management of Obesity on 24 February 2010, which provides evidence-based recommendations for clinical practice in the management of adults and children, including the use of bariatric surgery.

  SIGN recommends that bariatric surgery should be considered on an individual case basis following assessment of risk / benefit in patients who fulfil the following criteria:

  BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2;

  presence of one or more severe co-morbidities which are expected to improve significantly with weight reduction, and

  evidence of completion of a structured weight management programme not resulting in significant and sustained improvement in co-morbidities.

Health

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been refused a gastric band procedure by NHS Ayrshire and Arran in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran area have been referred for treatment involving gastric band procedures.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not available centrally.

NHS Services

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether equality impact assessments have been undertaken by NHS boards in relation to efficiency savings.

Nicola Sturgeon: Each NHS board has a duty as set out in HDL (2005) 9 to undertake equality impact assessments for changes in policy and service developments, which would include significant changes to meet efficiency savings. Boards are in the process of completing impact assessments and undertaking stakeholder engagement on areas of significant change and these assessments will be published and the agreed actions implemented and their delivery monitored.

NHS Services

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the budgetary decisions of NHS boards for 2010-11 will have an impact on disabled people.

Nicola Sturgeon: Equity and Efficiency are dimensions of healthcare quality. Each NHS board has a duty as set out in HDL (2005) 9 to undertake equality impact assessments for changes in policy and service developments, which include significant policy or service changes to deliver more efficient healthcare. Any changes that affect disabled people will be highlighted within this process, actions implemented and local service quality monitored.

NHS Services

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure that inequality is not reinforced by short-term budgeting in the NHS.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS financial plans are on a three to five year planning cycle to ensure long-term budgeting. NHS boards have a duty as set out in HDL (2005) 9 to undertake equality impact assessments for changes in policy and service developments.

  This year the Scottish Government instigated a change to the Local Delivery Plan process to identify issues affecting equality. A section on equalities for each target is completed by all boards which includes efficiency savings. Boards outline any risks that the delivery of efficiencies could create towards unequal health outcomes for the six equalities groups, and/or for people living in socio-economic disadvantage, and how these risks are being managed.

NHS Services

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it provides to NHS boards on considering the needs of equality groups when making decisions about reductions in services.

Nicola Sturgeon: Guidance outlining the requirements to equality impact assess all new or revised policies and strategies, including changes to existing services, was issued to NHS boards in March 2005. The guidance is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/02/20687/52421 . The Equality, People and Performance Directorate at NHS Health Scotland provides support to boards in relation to this work.

  Our recently updated Informing, Engaging and Consulting (IEC) guidance also places a duty on NHS boards to ensure that any proposed change of service is subject to an equality and diversity impact assessment (EQIA) and that the IEC process is fully accessible to all equality groups. The guidance is available at:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/publications/publication.asp?name=&org=%25&keyword=engaging&category=-1&number=10&sort=tDate&order=DESC&Submit=Go.

Police

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates that an increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20% would cost the Scottish Police Services Authority in one year.

Kenny MacAskill: Increasing VAT from 17.5% to 20% would cost the Scottish Police Services Authority an estimated additional £722,000 per annum.

Poverty

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-29505 by Alex Neil on 15 December 2009, how much of the £7.5 million allocated to support its poverty framework was committed as of 1 May 2010, broken down by (a) amount awarded, (b) receiving organisation and (c) date of award.

Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29505 which outlined committed spend from the funding allocated to implement Achieving our Potential in 2009-10 and 2010-11. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

  Of the funding allocated to support the implementation of Achieving our Potential, the following further commitments have been made:

  NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde were awarded £1 million in December 2009 to provide financial inclusion and other support to vulnerable families in receipt of the healthy start benefit in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

  Barnardo’s Scotland You First programme was awarded £214,600 in February 2010 to enhance the support that young, first time parents and their babies receive from their peers, the community and existing local services.

Recycling

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the recycling rates for (a) domestic and (b) municipal waste were in each local authority area in 2009-10, also showing the national average compared with the national target.

Richard Lochhead: Data on recycling rates for domestic/household and municipal waste in each local authority area in 2009-10 is currently not available. We are expecting the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency to publish this data in late September this year (2010).

Roads

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the provision of a bypass for Mauchline.

Stewart Stevenson: We have no plans to provide a bypass for Mauchline.

  However, in the short term, major road improvement works at Mauchline involving the replacement of almost one mile of carriageway will begin this summer as part of a £4 million upgrade for the A76.

  In the longer term, the STPR has recommended an upgrade of the A76 through a programme of active route management and targeted investment, providing both safety and operational improvements.

Roads

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision it makes to compensate local businesses as a result of delays in the completion of major works on trunk roads.

Stewart Stevenson: There is no legal requirement on Scottish ministers to pay compensation to local businesses as a result of delays in the completion of major works on trunk roads. Consequently, no provision is made within trunk road budgets to compensate for any disruption to businesses.

Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates that an increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20% would cost the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency in one year.

Kenny MacAskill: Increasing VAT from 17.5% to 20% would cost the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency an estimated additional £74,000 per annum.